Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Yahweh Has Chosen Zion
A Song of Ascents.
132 Remember, O Yahweh, on David’s behalf,
All (A)his affliction;
2 How he swore to Yahweh
And vowed to (B)the Mighty One of Jacob,
3 “Surely I will not come into [a](C)my house,
Nor [b]lie in the [c]comfort of my bed;
4 I will not (D)give sleep to my eyes
Or slumber to my eyelids,
5 Until I find a (E)place for Yahweh,
[d]A dwelling place for (F)the Mighty One of Jacob.”
6 Behold, we heard of it in (G)Ephrathah,
We found it in the (H)fields of [e]Jaar.
7 Let us come into His [f](I)dwelling place;
Let us (J)worship at the (K)footstool of His feet.
8 (L)Arise, O Yahweh, to Your (M)resting place,
You and the ark of Your (N)strength.
9 Let Your priests be (O)clothed with righteousness,
And let Your (P)holy ones sing for joy.
10 For the sake of David Your servant,
Do not turn away the face of Your (Q)anointed.
11 Yahweh has (R)sworn to David
A truth from which He will not turn back:
“(S)Of the fruit of your [g]body I will set upon your throne.
12 If your sons keep My covenant
And My testimony which I will teach them,
Their sons also shall (T)sit upon your throne forever.”
13 For Yahweh has (A)chosen Zion;
He has (B)desired it for His habitation.
14 “This is My (C)resting place forever;
Here I will (D)inhabit, for I have desired it.
15 I will abundantly (E)bless her provision;
I will (F)satisfy her needy with bread.
16 Her (G)priests also I will clothe with salvation,
And her (H)holy ones will sing loudly for joy.
17 There I will cause the (I)horn of David to spring up;
I have prepared a (J)lamp for Mine anointed.
18 His enemies I will (K)clothe with shame,
But upon him, his (L)crown shall blossom.”
Josiah Reads the Book of the Covenant
23 (A)Then the king sent, and they gathered to him all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. 2 And the king went up to the house of Yahweh and all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem with him, and the priests and the prophets and all the people, both small and great; and (B)he read in their hearing all the words of the book of the covenant (C)which was found in the house of Yahweh. 3 (D)Then the king stood by the pillar and cut a covenant before Yahweh, (E)to walk after Yahweh, and to keep His commandments and His testimonies and His statutes with all his heart and all his soul, to establish the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people [a]entered into the covenant.
4 Then the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest and (F)the priests of the second order and the [b]doorkeepers, (G)to bring out of the temple of Yahweh all the vessels that were made for Baal, for [c]Asherah, and for all the host of heaven; and (H)he burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron, and carried their ashes to Bethel. 5 And he did away with the idolatrous priests whom the kings of Judah had appointed and who burn incense in the high places in the cities of Judah and in the surrounding area of Jerusalem, as well as those who burned incense to Baal, to the sun and to the moon and to the constellations and to all the (I)host of heaven. 6 And he brought out the Asherah from the house of Yahweh outside Jerusalem to the brook Kidron, and burned it at the brook Kidron, and (J)ground it to dust, and (K)threw its dust on the graves of the [d]common people. 7 He also tore down the houses of the (L)male cult prostitutes which were in the house of Yahweh, where (M)the women were weaving [e]hangings for the Asherah. 8 Then he brought all the priests from the cities of Judah and defiled the high places where the priests had burned incense, from (N)Geba to Beersheba; and he tore down the high places of the gates which were at the entrance of the gate of Joshua the ruler of the city, which were on one’s left at the city gate. 9 Nevertheless (O)the priests of the high places did not go up to the altar of Yahweh in Jerusalem, but they ate unleavened bread among their brothers. 10 (P)He also defiled [f]Topheth, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, (Q)that no man might make his son or his daughter pass through the fire for (R)Molech. 11 And he did away with the horses which the kings of Judah had given to the (S)sun, at the entrance of the house of Yahweh, by the chamber of Nathan-melech the official, which was in the precincts; and he burned the chariots of the sun with fire. 12 (T)Also, the altars which were on the roof, the upper chamber of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and (U)the altars which Manasseh had made in the two courts of the house of Yahweh, the king tore down; and he [g]crushed them there and (V)threw their dust into the brook Kidron. 13 And the high places which were before Jerusalem, which were on the right of (W)the mount of destruction which Solomon the king of Israel had built for (X)Ashtoreth the detestable idol of the Sidonians, and for (Y)Chemosh the detestable idol of Moab, and for Milcom the abomination of the sons of Ammon, the king defiled. 14 (Z)And he broke in pieces the sacred pillars and cut down the Asherim and (AA)filled their places with human bones.
31 “(A)He who comes from above is above all, (B)he who is of the earth is from the earth and speaks of the earth. (C)He who comes from heaven is above all. 32 What He has seen and heard, of that He (D)bears witness; and (E)no one receives His witness. 33 He who has received His witness (F)has set his seal to this, that God is true. 34 For He whom God has (G)sent speaks the words of God; [a](H)for He gives the Spirit without measure. 35 (I)The Father loves the Son and (J)has given all things into His hand. 36 He who (K)believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who (L)does not [b]obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”
Legacy Standard Bible Copyright ©2021 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org For Permission to Quote Information visit https://www.LSBible.org.